On Borrowed Time (Plenty of Time series, book 2)
by TMNT-Queen
Summary: She knows what's coming - has known for a long time. One way or another, one of them is going to die. But she'd rather it be her than the leader that they all need and love so desperately. Sapphire is determined to keep his candle burning...no matter what the cost. (Rated T just to be safe.)
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

 _"Are you really willing to lose everything?"_

"I've already lost everything. And I can't - _won't -_ lose him, too."

 _"There's no way I could give you anesthesia for it. It would interfere with the transfer. You'd be in a lot of pain."_

A small, harsh laugh escapes soft pink lips. The sound is foreign and wrong in the dimness of the lab. "Believe me, I'm used to it."

 _"You really are certain about this, aren't you?"_

"Without him, they'll be broken. And I can't let that happen."

Silence.

"You once said you knew I'd make the right choice. This is the right choice. I know it is. And you know it, too. You don't want to lose him any more than I do."

 _"...All right. Thursday at midnight. Door's open."_

Then the voice is gone, and she's alone. Her blue-grey eyes glint with the shine of ill-concealed tears as she shuts off the phone and releases a shaky breath. _It's done._

There's a knock on the door and a familiar purple-banded face pops into the room. "Hey, Saph, the guys and I were wondering if you wanted any particular toppings on your- is everything okay?"

"Yeah," she lies, forcing a smile. "It's great." _It will be, anyway. Everything will be just fine._

Because she made a promise, and she's going to keep it. No matter what the cost.


	2. Chapter 1: Sapphire

_A/N: I just wanted to say THANK YOU for all the support you've given me. You guys are the absolute BEST! :D_

 **Chapter 1: Sapphire**

The first thing I'm aware of is the slow, steady, burning _pain._ It beckons to me, pulling me from the deep unconsciousness I've somehow fallen into. My eyelids slowly force themselves to open and it's a moment before I realize where I am.

But when I do, I'm suddenly wide awake. I jerk against the metal cuffs holding me to the lab table. "No. No, no, no. Not here."

"Saph?"

A voice, though rougher than normal, but still familiar. The string of panicked words lodges in my throat.

Leo sits against the far wall of the lab, chains binding his wrists and ankles to the ground. His body is bruised and beaten, and streaks of blood have stained his plastron red, but all I can think about is how happy I am to see him awake - to see him alive.

"What happened?" I ask quietly. "My memory is kind of foggy."

The leader's face creases in a grimace and he shifts, trying to get more comfortable. "Tiger Claw used me as bait to find the Lair, took out Donnie and Raph, and almost killed Mikey. Splinter came out of his room to see what the commotion was about, and bought me just enough time to make sure the others were okay. And then Tiger Claw found you - and seemed very interested in you, for some reason -, held a gun to Splinter's head, and forced the two of us to come with him back to Shredder's old lair."

A curse slips from my mouth and I squeeze my eyes shut, willing my headache to go away. There's only one possible explanation for why the giant cat was so interested in me. And that means that I'm in major trouble.

"Leo, there's something I need to-"

"Well, well, well. Look who's awake."

My blood runs cold as a dark-haired, brown-skinned man steps into my limited field of vision. "Baxter Stockman."

Stockman beams. "At least _you_ can get my name right. Everyone else is so challenged by the pronunciation. Anyway, did you have a nice nap?"

"Oh, yes. I'm assuming the headache is just a bonus?"

"An unfortunate side effect to the procedure, I'm afraid. It will leave you feeling weak and possibly nauseous, so please, if you _must_ vomit, do so in the other direction. I would rather not get my new lab coat dirty."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Leo interrupts from across the room. "What do you mean by _procedure?"_

The scientist makes an offhand gesture, clicking his tongue. "Really, it's very complicated to explain. But if you necessarily need to know, I'm draining the serum from her blood."

My face drains of color. _No._

"What serum?" the blue-banded turtle presses, nearly growling.

"You didn't tell him?" Stockman asks me in surprise. Then, "No, of course you didn't tell him. Hate to ruin the...ah... _mood,_ wouldn't you?"

"I was going to, but I...you know what? It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that his brothers are going to get here and kick your sorry butt." The words don't come out nearly as fierce as I'd hoped.

"Unfortunately for you, his brothers are incapacitated at the moment. My compatriot dealt them all quite heavy blows. It could take days to recover. And by the time they arrive, well...you won't be of much use to anyone." A small, cold smile appears on Stockman's face and he tugs on the IV stuck in the crook of my elbow. "In the meantime, I'd best be going. The situation between you two is pretty awkward right now, considering the fact that you hid something _this_ massive from your ninja boyfriend. But the good news is that you'll get the chance to clear the air before...you know."

The man fairly _skips_ from the lab, humming a little tune to himself. I don't even have to look to know that Leo's cobalt gaze is planted squarely on me.

"Saph...what was he talking about? Does this have anything to do with Tiger Claw's sudden fascination with you?"

It has everything to do with Tiger Claw's sudden fascination with me, but I can't tell him. Not yet. _Later,_ I promise myself.

"Look, it's...it's a really long story, and my head is hurting too badly to explain it all right now, okay?"

He's silent for a moment. Then he exhales, shaking his head. "Fine. I'm going to find a way out of here, and then you're explaining everything once we get back home."

"Fair enough." Because hopefully by then, I'll have come up with a convincing lie.

At least, a lie that will hold out long enough that I can put my plan into motion.


	3. Chapter 2: Leonardo

**Chapter 2: Leonardo**

I don't miss the look in Sapphire's eyes as she turns her face away from me to sleep. The blue-grey irises look haunted. No, not haunted... _hunted._

Worry fills my veins, but I push the feeling down and try to come up with a plan of escape. If what Storkman said was true, then my brothers won't be any help to us at all. And Saph is clearly in pain, despite the note of falsehood in her earlier statement, so it looks like I'm on my own.

But hurt as I am, the odds aren't looking all that great. I'll be lucky to get out of this one without having a seizure - which, apparently, was brought on by stress last time. _Absolutely no stress **here.** Nope. Not at all._

Tugging on the chains does nothing except make a lot of noise and dig the cuffs further into my wrists and ankles. They took my belt and pads along with my weapons, which means that my lockpick kit is gone.

A smirk crosses my face. It's an expression Raph would be proud of. Because while Steckman and Tiger Claw may have relieved me of most of my possessions, I still have a small pick hidden inside the gauze on my left foot. If I could just reach it...

 _"Pssst."_

My head snaps up at the sound, but a scan of the room reveals nothing.

"Hey, Three-Toesss."

And there she is, in all of her mutant glory. Her amber eyes glint in the fluorescent lighting, which reflects off of her pearly white scales. A fanged grin plays across her painted lips, and her forked tongue darts out for a second as she tastes the air.

"Misss me?"

For a moment, relief drowns out the hurt I'm still feeling. "I thought you were in Japan?"

"It got boring. All those turf warsss, and the feudsss between the clansss-"

"But most of the clans were wiped out, weren't they?"

"Apparently not. Hold on." A few twists of her tail, and the chains drop from my arms and legs. "Jeez. You're in bad ssshape. How are you feeling?"

"Been better." I can't hide my wince as I stand up, stretching to try and get the kinks out of my muscles. "Can you get Saph?"

Karai's face softens briefly and she nods. But when she takes in the tube stuck into Saph's arm, she freezes. "What'sss the IV for?"

"Some kind of procedure, according to Sporkman. He said she didn't have much time once it got underway."

Karai mutters a curse and quickly unlocks the cuffs, also yanking the IV out. "Grab the bag he wasss draining the ssserum into. Ssshe'll need it later." That said, she shifts back into human form, picks up Sapphire, and makes for the exit, leaving me gaping after her.

* * *

"Check her over. Now."

"I'm working as fast as I can-"

"Well work _faster."_

"Leo, would you call off your psycho ex-girlfriend here?" Donnie calls plaintively. Raph snickers.

My lips twitch upwards in a smile, despite the sting of those words. "It's no use, Don. She's as stubborn as a yak."

"That's offensive to yaks," Mikey puts in from his seat next to Saph's cot, where he's been flipping through comic books since we got back. Sapphire, meanwhile, has yet to wake up. And I'm starting to worry.

Donnie huffs, turning to give Karai a glare. "This is a delicate operation, and any rushing could jeopardize the tests I'm currently running."

"I just need to make sure that her white blood cell count is normal."

The lab falls silent. Four pairs of eyes land on the kunoichi. "...why wouldn't it be normal?" I ask slowly. "She beat the cancer and came out fine."

Karai bites her bottom lip, inhaling a little as if to steel herself. "Leo, there's...something she didn't tell you. Any of you. I only know because I made a wild guess that turned out to be correct when I confronted her about it."

"Which is...?" Raph prompts.

"She didn't actually... _beat_ the cancer. It's still in there."

"What?" I exclaim. "But the organ failure, the bone marrow...she should be-" I swallow, unable to say the next word. "I-I mean, that's what's supposed to happen. Isn't it?"

"Yes," Karai agrees. "But Saph's parents signed her up for an experimental 'cure' that would prolong her life. It didn't eliminate the cancer. It just kind of...kept it stable. Kept _her_ stable. As long as the cure was in her system, she would live."

"And it's been there all this time-"

"Until Stickman decided to remove it, for whatever purpose," Donnie finishes quietly.

"Which means that the cancer could come back?"

"That's why I was asking."

"And why do you care?" Raph asks, his fiery eyes narrowed. "Why do you suddenly care so much about Sapphire?"

Once again, an almost... _fondness_ sweeps over the snake-girl's features as she gazes at the brunette. "Because she's very important, Raphael. To everything."

Just for a second, Karai's piercing gaze lands on me. The full weight of it hits me like a freight train and I shiver. There's a seriousness in there, along with something else...sadness?

Before I can decipher it, the moment is over and Karai is turning away. "I need to go talk to Father. Tell him about what's going on. Let me know if you find _anything."_

Donnie nods and she disappears from the lab. I stare at Sapphire's still form, my mind racing. _She's very important. To everything._

But why? And what did that look mean? It's almost as if Karai knew something else. Something that I wouldn't like.

"All right, Leo. Let's get a look at you while those tests are running."

I nod my head in agreement, but my mind is a million miles away as Donnie checks me over. I'm not sure what's going on or what's about to happen.

But I have a really bad feeling about it.

 **Please review.**


	4. Chapter 3: Sapphire

A/N: It's been a royally long time. I know. Sorry.

Also, this chapter starts out a bit different. ;)

 **Chapter 3: Sapphire**

 _"It hurts, Mommy."_

 _"I know, sweetheart. But the doctor will be here in a minute to tell us what's wrong."_

 _As if on cue, the door opens to reveal a tired-looking man in a white coat. "Mr. and Mrs. Johnson?"_

 _"That's us," the nine-year-old's father says in a joking voice._

 _"The results of your daughter's scans have come back and...I'm not quite sure how to tell you this. She...she has cancer."_

 _"What?" the brunette woman gasps, her green eyes filling with tears._

 _"It's acute lymphoblastic leukemia, very quickly spreading. I'm afraid she's only got a few weeks left."_

 _"Isn't there anything we can do?"_

 _"Well...there's an experimental lab downtown. They run clinical trials for terminally ill patients. You wouldn't be able to see your daughter very much, but she'd have a chance."_

 _A week later, they were exchanging goodbyes on the steps of a grim-looking laboratory. The little girl barely had time to breathe before she was whisked away through the doors and into a completely white room. They strapped her down to a table, stuck a tube in her elbow, and began to pump a gooey, semi-glowing substance into her veins._

 _It burned._

Sapphire screamed, jerking against the straps holding her down. Voices cried out around her but she was too far gone to distinguish between them.

"You have to make it stop!"

"I can't. The procedure isn't finished-"

"It's _hurting_ her,Don!"

"I know it is, but there's nothing I can do! Either it takes or it doesn't!"

"And if it doesn't?"

"..."

Tears leaked out from the corners of Saph's closed eyelids, escaping like the whimpers from her gritted teeth. She writhed in agony, silently begging someone - _anyone -_ to just make. It. _Stop._

Finally, after what seemed like years, it was over. Her body was soaked with sweat and she was too weak to even move. Her chest rose and fell almost imperceptibly. But she was still breathing. She was still alive.

Slowly, so slowly, she opened her eyes. Four blurry figures swam into view, becoming clearer with each passing second. Donnie offered a tentative smile.

"How are you feeling?"

"Sore," she rasped. "Thirsty. What happened?"

As Mikey pressed a glass of cool water to her lips, they recounted everything that had happened since Tiger Claw invaded the Lair. How they weren't capable of launching a rescue mission because they were so battered. How Karai had suddenly appeared out of nowhere with the unconscious girl in her arms and Leo dragging behind. The days-long struggle to get the serum back into Saph's bloodstream.

"...then you know..."

"Yes," Donnie replied quietly. "Why didn't you tell us that you were still sick?"

"Because I _wasn't._ I was still moving around just as well as before everything happened. I was still me. There was no reason to act like something was wrong because everything was fine."

"The serum only stabilized the cancerous cells. Froze them, as it were. The cells were still there. And should the serum have fluctuated at all, you would've had an instantaneous relapse and died within a few weeks' time."

"But it didn't."

"Saph-"

She sat up, ignoring the wave of pain that swept through her body. Hot tears stung at her eyes again. "Did you ever think that the reason I didn't tell you was because maybe I didn't want to be treated differently? And that maybe that's the reason Leo never told you either? I didn't want to be treated like I was fragile. I wanted to just be _me,_ without cancer, without a crappy backstory. And I was, for a while." Her voice lost its volume, then, and her shoulders sagged. "I was. And then Tiger Claw found me."

Leo, who had been quietly looking at the floor all this time, pinned his cobalt gaze on her face. "He knew who you were. How?"

Sapphire dropped her face into her hands and sighed. "Probably because the lab I went to for treatment was a Kraang lab. I escaped a few months before you guys found me on the streets. It would make sense that they put out an APB on my sorry butt, especially since I was the only one who made it through their 'clinical trial.'"

 **A/N: Aaaaand time for a cliffhanger. ;)**

 **Please review.**


	5. Chapter 4: Leonardo

_A/N: I know it's been way too long - I'm so sorry. I did get that job, by the way, which is part of the reason that I haven't been updating as much. The other part is that I just can't get my brain to work, haha._

 _But here we go._

 **Chapter 4: Leonardo**

"This doesn't mean anything."

"She's a test subject-"

"Through no fault of her own."

"Leo, she lied to us for _years._ And this isn't exactly a secret that's easy to keep. If she was lying about that, who knows what else she could be-"

I turn to face Raph so suddenly that he flinches. "She's _not_ a spy, Raph. She's not. She can't be."

"It's a very real possibility," he responds quietly. "You know it is."

"The Kraang were wiped out," I insist. I look down at my hands, clenched into fists against my thighs as I kneel on the tatami mats. No training is allowed, but I can meditate for hours. Unfortunately, most of my meditation time has lately been occupied with thoughts of everything that's going on. "We took care of them a long time ago. Who would she be spying for, Raphael? Shredder? Hun? They're gone too, in case you forgot. So who, exactly, is Saph in cahoots with?"

Raph sighs and rubs a hand across his head. "I'm just trying to figure out if maybe...maybe we were wrong about her."

 _That's it._ I shoot to my feet and make for the door, needing to get out of this room - get away from him. From his accusations. I pause only to glance back at him one last time. "I wasn't."

 **TMNT/TMNT/TMNT**

"I know what he thinks about me," comes her voice, still hoarse from screaming.

"It doesn't matter what he thinks."

Sapphire sits up in bed and fixes her clear gaze on my face. "You know it does."

"We've known you since you were _twelve_ , Saph. There's no way you'd be spying on us."

"Look, Raph is just doing his job. He has to make sure that your mind is in the right place."

"And what about my heart?" The words slipped out before I could catch them, but I'm not necessarily sorry about it.

She swallows, as if trying to gather strength to ask the next question. "What's it saying?"

But whatever my response would've been is cut off by feet pounding on the floor. An out-of-breath Michelangelo appears in the doorway a few seconds later, his eyes wild and frightened. "Guys, you really need to see this."

 **TMNT/TMNT/TMNT**

"This is bad," Donnie mutters, chewing on the end of his pencil. I reach over and gently brush his hand away.

"Calm down. Until we know more, there's no point in worrying."

"Leo, Tiger Claw is on the _news_. At what point is worrying within my limits of capability again?"

Across the room, the others are silent. Mikey bounces nervously from foot to foot, constantly shifting his weight. Raph is staring blankly at the television with a scowl on his face and his arms crossed against his plastron. Karai almost matches his demeanor - with the exception of her face, which is halfway transformed into her snake counterpart. And Sapphire...

I've never seen her so scared.

"There's got to be a good reason he's come out of the shadows. I mean, what does he stand to gain from going public?"

"Ruining everything," Saph whispers. "He alerts everyone to the threat of mutants, and then they start a search throughout the city. Everyone will be tracked down and experimented on, like I was. And then...and then they'll..." She doesn't finish her sentence. She doesn't have to. We all know what she was going to say.

"But why now? Why after the whole serum thing? Is it all connected?"

Karai shakes her head. "It has to be. But how? It's not like he can use the serum for anything. Right?"

"No, but Speckman can. He clearly knew what he was doing when he drained it from Saph's blood. That takes skill, and knowledge, and purpose. He definitely had a reason." My brainy brother frowns, and I can practically see the gears turning in his head. And then all the blood drains from his face. "Oh, no."

"What is it?"

"I know why Starkman wanted the serum, but you're not gonna like it."

"Donnie..."

His mahogany eyes meet mine and my breath catches in my throat. There's so much fear in that one look. "He's going to bring Shredder back."

 **A/N: Please review.**


	6. Chapter 5: Sapphire

_A/N: Starting out this chapter with a bit of a flashback - if this story was a TV show it would work exactly how it plays out in my head. But it's not a TV show, so you just have to read it and imagine it as one of those TV-series flashbacks. XD_

* * *

 **Previously...**

 _"I know what he thinks about me."_

 _"It doesn't matter what he thinks."_

 _"You know it does."_

….

 _"Leo, Tiger Claw is on the_ **_news._** _"_

 _"There's got to be a good reason he's come out of the shadows."_

 _"I know why he wanted the serum...he's going to bring Shredder back."_

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Sapphire**

"He's going to bring Shredder back."

Raph swears under his breath and turns around to rub a hand across his face. Mikey goes pale and shrinks back. Karai literally hisses, _probably_ unintentionally, at Donnie. And Leo's face just becomes a cold, emotionless mask - but his jaw clenches the tiniest bit.

"That isn't possible, is it?"

"Yeah," Raph puts in, facing everyone again and crossing his arms. "I mean, last time someone tried to bring ol' Shredhead back it didn't turn out so well."

The youngest turtle shudders and squeezes his eyes shut. "I do _not_ want to think about zombie Shredder, dude. It was scary enough dealing with alive-him. Dead-him was _way_ worse."

Donnie eyes both of them and then clears his throat. " _Anyway,_ to answer your question, Leo: Speckman can't bring him back without the serum, which you grabbed on the way out of Foot HQ. The properties of the serum would be enough to suspend his cells in enough of a living state to keep him going - he wouldn't be able to do anything without it. But if they got their hands on Saph again..."

I tune out the conversation and head into the kitchen, lean against the counter, and put my face in my hands as hot tears sting my eyes. _This is such a mess. Everything is a mess._

I don't hear the footsteps. I don't see someone enter the kitchen behind me. But I do feel a pair of strong arms slide around me and pull me against a smooth plastron. Leo rests his chin on the top of my head.

"It'll be okay, Saph," he whispers. "I'm going to protect you."

"How?" I ask sharply, pulling away to stare up at him with my red eyes and red cheeks. "How can you protect me when you're not even allowed to _train_ anymore, Leo? You're a mess - most of the time you can barely walk straight! The other guys don't really patrol anymore either, and they're getting out of shape too. It's not like I can fight. I mean, heck, I'm weak enough as is without the serum possibly destabilizing. There is no possible way that you could even hope to protect me!"

He falls silent and pulls away, walking over to the table and sitting down heavily on a stool. I immediately feel a surge of guilt.

"Leo, I-"

"Stop. You're right. I know you are. I just...I don't want it to end this way," the blue-banded leader admits in a voice that sounds so, so _broken._ "I don't want to hide down here until it's all gone. I don't want to lose everything." That fragile voice cracks. "I don't want to...I don't want to _die,_ Saph. Not like this."

He wipes at his eyes, not able to hide the tears forming in the corners. "I've been trained for battle and raised in the ways of Bushido all my life. I've looked coldhearted men in the eyes, stared down the barrels of guns, had unforgiving steel pointed at my throat and head...and I'm absolutely terrified right now. Because at least with all of that, there was a chance - I don't care how small. I could still fight. But how do you defeat something _inside_ you? There is no mercy from this. There is no honor. I'm being destroyed by my own body and I can't do anything about it."

In that moment, my heart absolutely shatters for him - for a once-proud leader, brought low by such a horrific series of events. For a teen who will never get to experience love or anything else good that the world has to offer. For a boy who is in way above his head and still trying to hold onto any shred of hope because that's what he's been _trained_ for.

For a boy who is slowly coming to believe that there is nothing left for him but an agonizing death and a permanent home six feet in the cold ground.

And in that moment, any remaining doubts I had are gone. My resolve hardens and becomes immovable. Stockman will never get the serum from me. He will never bring the Shredder back, and he will never harm one scale on Leonardo's head.

There is absolutely no force on Earth that can stop me from saving the one who saved my life all those years ago. All I need are a few days' time and a quiet place to work.

My mind spins with a possible solution and I squeeze Leo's hand before running out of the room. My stomach pain goes unnoticed as I rush into the lab, where Donnie is once again deeply engrossed in more cancer research. "We need to go to the farmhouse."

Don looks up at me in surprise, pulling off his goggles. "Pardon?"

"We need to go to the farmhouse. We've got to get out of the city before they find us."

"But...Leo-"

"He'll be okay until we get up there. Please, D. I can fix this. I can help him. But we have to leave the city first."

There's a brief moment of hesitation before the genius nods and stands up, reaching over to close his laptop. "Okay. We'll leave at midnight."

 **A/N: Things are starting to heat up...**

 **Anyone have any ideas as to what's going on or what Saph's plan is?**

 **Please review. Please?**


	7. Chapter 6: Leonardo

**Chapter Six: Leo**

The ride up to the farmhouse is long, and painful, and I wish with every fiber of my being that we were staying in the Lair instead. Now, I can understand the need for the trip, don't get me wrong. After all, it wouldn't be long before Tiger Claw led the authorities right to us, especially given how far he was willing to go just to draw us out - appearing on live television in front of millions of people across the globe is no small party trick.

And judging by the rigidity of Donnie's posture and the deep worry lines on his face as he scans through news reports and websites, the repercussions of our enemy's actions are already starting to hit home.

"They found three mutants in Staten Island around two o'clock this morning. That brings the count to a grand total of thirty-one captures since Onslaught," my genius brother informs me, keeping his voice lowered so as not to wake Mikey. Sapphire tenses and reaches for my hand, gripping it tight. In the driver's seat, Raph goes absolutely silent; I can feel the waves of helplessness and anger radiating off of him.

I take a breath and lean my head back against the wall of the Party Wagon, closing my eyes as my bones start to ache again. I've been sitting in the same spot for the past three hours and I'm really starting to hurt but I don't say anything about it because that would only make the ride longer.

Unfortunately, Saph notices. She reaches up and taps Raphael on the shoulder to get his attention. "Leo needs a break. Pull over."

"Now? We're not even close to being out of the woods yet. I haven't noticed a tail but if I pull over there's no telling if someone will catch-"

"He's in pain, dammit. Pull over or I'll take the controls and do it myself."

My hotheaded brother complies without another word of protest, and soon we're pulling onto a smaller side road. The Party Wagon rolls to a stop and I shoot my blue-eyed friend a grateful smile as I get to my feet.

 _Too fast-_

My stomach lurches and I fling open the door, stumbling out into the ditch as my meager lunch makes a grand reappearance. My face is hot and my ears ring when I finally manage to sit back up, but mercifully, the others stayed in the van, so I have a moment to compose myself again. I take a few deep breaths and glance around, realizing just how far from the city we really are now. The road we're on is badly overgrown and more of a path than an actual _road_ , but it served its purpose.

Eventually, I gather enough strength to stand up and stretch my aching limbs. My shoulders sag a little when I recall how months ago, I could move with no pain at all.

"Leo?" My head snaps up and I meet Donatello's concerned gaze. "Is everything okay?"

 _Huh._ I refrain from mentioning the fact that I didn't hear him leave the Party Wagon, choosing instead to take a tentative step in his direction. "Yeah, I'm-"

My bad knee gives out with a dull _snap_ that sends pain flaring through every single nerve ending in my body. I tumble forward, reaching out with my hands to catch myself before I hit the ground-

-and he's there, pulling me up again, settling me on the side of the road with a gentle hand. He's speaking, asking rapid-fire questions I can't hear through the blood roaring in my ears. A groan forces itself out of my mouth and the world tilts on its axis.

 _"-eo, hang on-"_

The last thing I see is a pale-faced Donnie shouting for the others, and then the world goes black.


End file.
